The idea for this recipe came when I was experimenting with Ethiopian food. I’m not exactly a purist when it comes to cooking (all about that fusion food), and I’ve wanted to find a way to enjoy cottage pie more for years. I love mashed potatoes, veggies are my jam, but even making the pie with roast beef instead of ground didn’t help. This was basically a last ditch effort to make cottage pie exciting enough to get my attention 🤫
I used the leftover Ethiopian beef stew as my base, a modified version of their collard greens as the veggie, and topped with leftover mashed potatoes. Since then.. I’ve tweaked the recipe until it’s exactly right. This curried cottage pie is more reminiscent of a mild Indian curry than an Ethiopian stew now, but it still features the braised greens, mashed potatoes, and all of the flavour you could every hope for in a comfort dish. Enjoy!
A serving of this recipe counts as a serving of carbs, protein, and two servings of veggies (win!).
Curried Cottage Pie
Ingredients
Beef curry
- 4 cups stewing beef or a small chuck roast
- 2 tsp butter or olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion diced (or substitute with 2 stalks celery diced)
- 1 jalapeno diced fine
- 1 tbsp ginger -garlic paste or 1 tbsp ginger, minced
- 2 tbsp red curry paste
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup stock vegetable or beef
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp coriander powder
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Braised Spinach
- 8 cups baby spinach
- 1/2 to 1 cup vegetable stock
- 1 tbsp turmeric
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
- 1 tsp ground ginger
Mashed Potatoes
- 4 large yellow potatoes peeled, boiled until soft, and drained
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp milk or until the texture is right
- 2 tsp butter
Instructions
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In an instant pot or pot on the stove, saute onions in olive oil until they start to soften. Add in jalapenos and ginger garlic and cook until fragrant. Stir in curry paste and tomato paste. Add in stock, beef, and seasonings. Cover. Cook on manual for 30 minutes and natural release OR simmer on the stove until beef is fall apart tender. Shred beef in the pot and simmer curry on saute mode until it thickens a bit.
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While beef is cooking, bring 1/2 cup stock to a boil, reduce heat, and stir in spinach until it starts to wilt. Stir in seasonings. Simmer with the lid mostly on until the spinach is fully wilted and then reduce the stock if any is left.
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While potatoes are still warm, used a masher or hand mixer to combine potatoes, milk, butter, and salt until creamy.
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Preheat oven to 400F. Layer beef curry, spinach, and top with potatoes. Bake for 20 minutes.
